One of the most common accusations against meal replacement shakes is that they are not real food. But what counts as real food and what is artificial? In this article we will be looking at what meal replacement shakes are, what the definition of real food is, and how to successfully integrate meal replacement shakes into your diet.
A meal replacement shake is a (usually) powdered product that provides you with a calorie controlled serving of fats, protein, and carbohydrates. The powder is mixed with water (or milk) and is designed to replace a regular meal such as breakfast or lunch (rarely dinner).
It is easy to understand why people don’t think of meal replacement shakes as real food, it’s a powder that you add water to. However, the powder is made from real food. Meal replacement shake powders can be made from rice, oats, peas, seeds, and other foods.
Meal replacement shakes have three main uses. If they are calorie-controlled diet meal replacement shakes, they can be used for weight loss, which is their most common use. These can also be used for weight maintenance, which is why diet meal replacement shake diets are often more successful than traditional diets, as you can use them to transition from a weight loss diet to regular eating without gaining weight.
The debate around meal replacement shakes reminds us of the old argument about whether soup is a food or not. Most people would say that soup is a food as it is made from vegetables, stock, and sometimes meat. But some soups are almost pure liquid. Flour is classed as a food, but it is basically powder. Obviously, you wouldn’t class it as a meal on its own, but it can be used to make bread which is a food.
Meal replacement shakes are made from real food ingredients and then turned into a powder. The powder is then turned into a shake, but many can also be mixed with yoghurt or milk to create a more substantial consistency.
Technically meal replacement shakes can be classed as food, but we can all agree that this term is pretty subjective. What people mean though is that it isn’t a proper home cooked meal. Which is indisputable. But so what?
If you are looking for weight loss, then the traditional method is to replace your breakfast and lunches with meal replacement shakes, then have a healthy well-balanced evening meal with lots of vegetables and protein.
Meal replacement shakes are not for everyone, in fact there are certain people that meal replacement shakes will have a negative impact upon. But they are much better for you than many people would have you believe and have been embraced by the NHS as an effective way to treat obesity. Whether you class them as real food or not is up to you, but whatever the answer it doesn’t really matter.